Stanley Park
A classic trail, this 10km loop is dog-friendly, and frequented by cyclists, joggers and people roller blading. Making your way around the park, along the sea and through bits of old growth forest, you will always feel a sense of adventure and exploration. You are only a stone's throw away from the city centre, but you'll feel as if you've traveled to a natural oasis.
Spanish Banks to Jericho Beach
This 3 km stretch of beachside trail is perfect for an easy bike ride. Manageable in under 30 mins, you could even take a Mobi share bike for free. You can also start at Kits beach to make the journey a bit longer, and continue along Northwest Marine drive around UBC campus to Wreck beach to add a bit more coastline to your bike ride.
Barnston Island
This flat, 10km island trail is a little too long to walk, but cycling around it is a perfect day trip, and family friendly with nearly no traffic or hills. With a couple of scenic view points on the way, you´ll get great views to Pitt Meadows and Surrey from the other side of the Fraser River. Take a picnic with you to stop at one of the many picnic spots, and use the ferry from Surrey Bend Regional park - also a fine place to cycle around or have a picnic - where bikes always travel free.
Granville Island to Fraser River aka Arbutus Greenway
Formerly a railroad, this railway corridor along Arbutus Street has been turned into a 9km trail, perfectly reinvented as a bike path. You can start or end on Granville Island, rolling past False Creek and make your way south to the Fraser River. Plenty of small parks and green spaces offer scenic stops and picnic places, perfect for kids and pets, and the trail has also been made accessible to people of all abilities.
Central Valley Greenway
For a bit more of a challenge, try this 24km route from Science World, Vancouver, through Burnaby and into New Westminster. Take in a bit of the hustle and bustle of city life, using the dedicated bike path for your trip. Its a perfect trip to stop for shopping, dining or a coffee at one of the many cafés on the way.
If you want to try these all, you can even connect the dots to combine them for a full cycling tour of Vancouver and surrounding areas, or make a day out of each trip and combine your journey, start to end, with bike friendly public transport. MAZDIS is doing its best to offer secure and safe bike storage around Vancouver to make journeys like this more enjoyable, and will hopefully expand to surrounding cities.
Once you've tried all these trails, or if you'd rather take a day trip outside of the lower mainland, head out to Whistler with your mountain bike between April and November. During the ski off-season, all the gondola's are turned into bike lifts for world-class downhill mountain biking. Enjoy all the thrills without ever having to bike back up the mountain!